Yup, I was also inspired by Ordphien's lovely little lantern, and I finally got this project planted (all orchids from Andy's). Right now none of the growth can be attributed to me, since I got these yesterday, but I'll keep this thread updated.
The lantern is from Home Goods, there is a little plastic container in the bottom filled with pebbles, and sitting on it is a piece of lava rock from Petco. I currently have a CFL mounted in the top, but may switch that out with an LED spotlight depending on how the plants respond. I sealed the whole inside of the lantern, including metal, with clear silicone and let it sit for around a week before planting.
My own special touch is a PVC tube which I bent over the flame on my gas stove (don't try this at home, kids). If you do want to try this, it was pretty easy but make sure to use PVC and not another type of hard plastic like pex - PVC can be bent easily when heated, and once it cools it will retain its new shape.
The PVC pipe has a plugged bottom so it can hold water, and is wrapped in Spyra. Spyra is a material supposedly very much like Hygrolon, but available for a reasonable price in the States. You can buy it
here, and I will definitely update on my success with it! I got a large piece, so I have a few more projects with it coming up.
Enough talk, let's see some pictures!
Front:
My view from the bed:
Plant list:
Bulbophyllum moniliforme
Dendrobium aberrans
Epidendrum porpax
Isabelia virginalis
Masdevallia wendlandiana
Microgramma piloselloides
A few of the plants were larger than I expected, notably the Masdie and the Epidendrum, so I might have to end up moving them to my other tank. I also at some point want to get a
Lepanthes telipogoniflora and a
Lepanthes calodictyon, and my Haraella may end up in here.
Another nightstand lantern
Linear Mode
